Equipment focus: Liebherr R 9800 BH mining excavator

The monster Liebherr R 9800 BH joins Downer’s existing mining equipment fleet of four R 9800 BH excavators and four R 9400 excavators. The enormous face shovels are being used in both coal and iron ore applications.

The big Liebherr R 9800 BH has an operating weight of around 810 tonnes with the face shovel attachment, or 800 tonnes when in backhoe mode.

Downer Mining has been in operation for over 90 years and provides mining services at all stages of the mining lifecycle. One of the group’s current projects is the operation of the Goonyella Riverside Mine in Queensland’s Bowen Basin.

The mine is owned by the BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA) and is one of seven BMA-owned mine in the Bowen Basin.

The monster Liebherr R 9800 BH joins Downer’s existing fleet of four R 9800 BH excavators and four R 9400 excavators. The enormous face shovels are being used in both coal and iron ore applications.

The big Liebherr 9800 has an operating weight of around 810 tonnes with the face shovel attachment, or 800 tonnes when in backhoe mode.

The R 9800 BH excavator is a serious mining machine designed for large-scale mining operations. The Liebherr is powered by two US Tier Interim/EU Stage IIIB Cummins QSK 60 engines capable of pushing out an astonishing 2,984kW.

As mentioned, the Liebherr R 9800 BH is designed for face shovel and backhoe operation. Both the face shovel and backhoe attachments can hold up to 42 cubic metres of material at a rated weight of 1.8 tonnes per cubic metre, for a total of 75.6 tonnes of material per pass.

The giant digger sits atop a heavy-duty undercarriage that Liebherr says is designed for optimal weight distribution and machine stability. The undercarriage features automatic track tensioning and the travel drive is located externally for easier maintenance.

The R 9800 Liebherr excavator's modern operators’ cab is insulated against sound and vibrations and has a body-contoured pneumatic seat that can be adjusted to the operator’s weight. The excavator’s joystick levers are fully integrated into the armrest, which can also be adjusted to match the seat position.